Any Reefkeepers here ?

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Discussion

Turn7

Original Poster:

23,502 posts

220 months

Saturday 2nd September 2017
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Will be downsizing my 600 litre Malawi Rifts set up to a much smaller Reef tank.

Have kept fish for 30 years plus but new to Salties, so any hints and tips welcome.....

Considering a Red Sea Reefer 170 or 250 currently....

Have no idea just how whats involved on a daily basis, but in research mode......

m3jappa

6,391 posts

217 months

Saturday 2nd September 2017
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You want to join ultimate reef, reef2reef, reef central and basically just read read read.

Its actually an incredibly easy hobby, I've just closed down my last tank which was full with very colourful acropora.

Its a hobby and not a fish tank iykwim, same as golf or some other activity which you need to practice to get good at. If your willing to learn and follow instructions its fairly straightforward.

Turn7

Original Poster:

23,502 posts

220 months

Saturday 2nd September 2017
quotequote all
On Ult Reef already and am reading reading reading

m3jappa

6,391 posts

217 months

Saturday 2nd September 2017
quotequote all
A big bit of advice which i rarely if ever see given is the following:

Try your hardest to decide what type of tank you want and stick to it. By mixing things up which shouldn't really go together you will make your own life hard. If you try and have say a tank full of sps and lps you will struggle, sps want loads of water movement, lps dont. sps want lots of light lps don't.

You've got the following

fish only
fish only with live rock
soft coral tank
lps tank
sps tank
mixed reef.

mixed is hardest really as your trying to replicate different parts of the reef in a small box.

i often see people who want loads of acros and loads of scollys, unless you really know what your doing its hard.

Also find yourself a good shop. If your in the south east your lucky as we have probably the best in the country.

Turn7

Original Poster:

23,502 posts

220 months

Saturday 2nd September 2017
quotequote all
m3jappa said:
Also find yourself a good shop. If your in the south east your lucky as we have probably the best in the country.
Such as ?
I have very little in faith in LFS as the advice given is usually very poor......

m3jappa

6,391 posts

217 months

Sunday 3rd September 2017
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In Essex we have aac in Harlow which is possibly one of the best in the country for advice, livestock and i think now dry goods. You've also got coral passion in Rettendon which is also very good, and then h20 aquatics in Brentwood which has an enormous range of dry goods and livestock.
Reef dreams in Kent looks really good as well but I've never been.

Join some Facebook groups as well, seem to be taking over from forums.

lee_fr200

5,476 posts

189 months

Sunday 3rd September 2017
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New to this but don't understand your terminologies

And sorry to thread hijack

We have a tropical tank currently and we want to get a much bigger tank as a reef with fish and corals! And I want lots of colour

I'm a beginner

Any help appreciated

steve2

1,771 posts

217 months

Sunday 3rd September 2017
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This is my friends tank which is stunning
http://www.ultimatereef.net/threads/mission-possib...

Oakey

27,523 posts

215 months

Sunday 3rd September 2017
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There's a guy on Youtube with a 30,000 litre tank that is possibly the most bonkers thing I've ever seen

m3jappa

6,391 posts

217 months

Sunday 3rd September 2017
quotequote all
lee_fr200 said:
New to this but don't understand your terminologies

And sorry to thread hijack

We have a tropical tank currently and we want to get a much bigger tank as a reef with fish and corals! And I want lots of colour

I'm a beginner

Any help appreciated
It all sounds like some kind of other language at first hehe but keep reading and then doing and it all becomes second nature. You will make mistakes along the way, its one of the most frustrating but rewarding hobbies I've had.

5678

6,146 posts

226 months

Tuesday 5th September 2017
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Turn7 said:
Will be downsizing my 600 litre Malawi Rifts set up to a much smaller Reef tank.

Have kept fish for 30 years plus but new to Salties, so any hints and tips welcome.....

Considering a Red Sea Reefer 170 or 250 currently....

Have no idea just how whats involved on a daily basis, but in research mode......
I'm 4 months into my Reefer 170 having switched from freshwater.

A few thoughts...
- Reefer tanks are great. The main issue most people have is small Top Off tanks and proprietary filter sock sizes.
- Plan your system to the Nth degree before you buy anything, research, research, research...
- Ultimatereef is a great forum, I'm on there too.
- Decide what you want to keep and understand what it involves.
- The myth that SPS are some black art isn't that true. Don't be put off.
- Don't underestimate the setup cost!!

I set out intending to go for a soft coral and LPS tank. This has since changed to be a LPS/SPS mixed tank. I've also tried to over spec my equipment and make sure it is as silent as possible. Partly to futureproof, partly for performance/reliability.

My UR thread is here: http://www.ultimatereef.net/threads/davids-first-m...

Go for the Reefer 250 if you have space. The extra sump/cabinet space would be useful. I have no space outside the cabinet due to location and it's a struggle fitting everything in!

Just ask if you have any questions!

Current tank shot (with dirty glass!)




5678

6,146 posts

226 months

Tuesday 5th September 2017
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Another thought, look at the Reefloat water changers and ATO units. I use one of his water changes and it's a huge time saver.

Turn7

Original Poster:

23,502 posts

220 months

Wednesday 6th September 2017
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Cheers 5678, Id already read your build thread, and most others on 170s tbh....

I'll see what I end up with, but the cost does scare me a little - (and my other hobby is Photography!)

170 seems perfect, but I get the extra cab space and volume from a 250...

What do you guesstimate you spend on chemicals ect a month ?

5678

6,146 posts

226 months

Wednesday 6th September 2017
quotequote all
Turn7 said:
Cheers 5678, Id already read your build thread, and most others on 170s tbh....

I'll see what I end up with, but the cost does scare me a little - (and my other hobby is Photography!)

170 seems perfect, but I get the extra cab space and volume from a 250...

What do you guesstimate you spend on chemicals ect a month ?
Not a lot tbh, most is the initial setup cost.

I'm on my second 25 litre bucket of DD salt, £60 a pop
I'm dosing Redsea premixed A (9ml), B (19ml) & C (1ml) so the A will list 100 days, B 50 days, C years! The 1l B bottles are around £23
I'm then buying Coral Colours and Foundation Elements. I started with the small packs but these have lasted 6 weeks or so, I'll buy bigger ones next time.

If you've got space next to the cabinet then you'll be fine with the reefer 170. If I had the space I'd use larger dosing containers and mix my own. I'd also run a 25l ATO.

Turn7

Original Poster:

23,502 posts

220 months

Wednesday 6th September 2017
quotequote all
Cheers, Im sure a larger ATU is on the agenda...

5678

6,146 posts

226 months

Thursday 7th September 2017
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Turn7 said:
Cheers, Im sure a larger ATU is on the agenda...
Makes a massive difference. I have to top up the standard tank every 2-3 days. When I go away I setup a 25l drum as the tank and run the ATO from that instead. Lasts about 2 weeks.

Cool Mart

131 posts

213 months

Friday 8th September 2017
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12 years of Reefing here, latest reef (3 years) is a 1500ltr mixed LPS/SPS

I'm in Herts and always have a selection of coral frags tucked away in my frag tank if you're looking to stock up

As has been mentioned, find a good shop, AAC Harlow or Maidenhead Windsor are great SE shops

I'm also on UR. One thing you soon learn is who knows their stuff and who thinks they know their stuff ... big difference

Good luck with it, it's a fantastic hobby that can be very straightforward if you have the correct equipment/set-up and knowledge base.

Martin


5678

6,146 posts

226 months

Friday 8th September 2017
quotequote all
Cool Mart said:
12 years of Reefing here, latest reef (3 years) is a 1500ltr mixed LPS/SPS

I'm in Herts and always have a selection of coral frags tucked away in my frag tank if you're looking to stock up

As has been mentioned, find a good shop, AAC Harlow or Maidenhead Windsor are great SE shops

I'm also on UR. One thing you soon learn is who knows their stuff and who thinks they know their stuff ... big difference

Good luck with it, it's a fantastic hobby that can be very straightforward if you have the correct equipment/set-up and knowledge base.

Martin
Hi Martin, what's your UR forum name? Will look out for you.

Cool Mart

131 posts

213 months

Friday 8th September 2017
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Same as on Pistonheads .... 15 years I've used this username and it's probably even less correct than it was in 2002 !

TLandCruiser

2,788 posts

197 months

Saturday 9th September 2017
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Ive temporary downsized from a 150g to a 65g until my house extension is complete, my first bit of advice is QT everything wet, my second advice is QT everything wet and lastly QT everything wet. Corals, fish and inverts or you risk getting ICH, velvet and other nasty parasites for which there is no reef safe medication, despite the claims of some medical treatments, garlic, voodoo magic and dancing round the tank shaking a stick to banish the parasite away. Study the research papers on ich/velvet and you will then be able to understand why there is no reef safe medication.

I have my display tank, a QT tank and a coral/invert QT. the QT were set up for less than £60 and that alone is cheaper than loosing fish or all of them, then save your time by having to go fallow for 76days. lastly, no LFS in the country can QT properly due to the nature of the business for you to trust their procedure.

Personally the only reef forum worth reading is Reef2Reef.

Lastly, I don't believe their are any easy or hard corals, just do your research and come to a clear understanding for the needs of the species and you will be fine. To many people don't read enough/research/understand or have the commitment to keeping their chosen corals. But rather some corals are more demanding than others.

Edited by TLandCruiser on Saturday 9th September 01:21